Dreaming on the Radio
by SY-chwan
Summary: Annoyance is obviously the start of a beautiful relationship. Echizen is a famous singer secretly attending Senbatsu University. On top of keeping his grades up and his identity a secret, he has to deal with the most annoying of housemates. -MomoRyo-
1. Chapter 1

**Dreaming on the Radio**** (Chapter 1)**

_  
Ano hi guuzen Kikoeta koe ni  
Kokoro ubawarete shimattan'da_

Momoshiro hummed along to the radio as he scurried around the kitchen, looking for the tools and ingredients he would need to make his super great Momoshiro special sandwich.

"I'm dreaming on the radio," Momo sang as he half jigged away from the fridge with the ham and mayonnaise bottle. Echizen Ryoma was possibly one of the best singers he had heard in a long time. Apparently he was a child star in America until the age of twelve but then promptly disappeared from the music industry. Now, after six years since his last number one, Echizen Ryoma has returned to wow the nation from which he was born.

Strangely, very few people knew what Echizen actually looks like. There had been scarcely any television appearances or interviews when he was a child star and he has not produced so much as a music video of his latest release. It was a wonder how popular his song became when the boy himself had not made any appearances in the media.

His publicist had claimed that Echizen did not wish to be disrupted during his university studies and thus had applied to a college under a false alias.

_Dreaming on the radio_

"Anytime, anywhere, I listen to the radio yeah!" Momoshiro blared out, placing the sliced tomatoes between the intervals of his own singing.

_Nani ka atarashii koto_-

"Oi!" Momshiro spun around at the sudden cease of the music only to find himself being glared at by a pair of hazel eyes beneath the white brim of a baseball cap.

"What the heck did you do that for?"

Ryuzaki Ryoma moved in a month ago; cold and distant yet insisting to be known by his first name, Momoshiro thought he was a mystery that he didn't really have time to solve.

"It was too loud," Ryoma muttered as he sauntered over to the fridge

Momoshiro rolled his eyes, "so? It's Echizen Ryoma! Who cares if it's loud?"

The only answer Momoshiro received was another frigid glare.

"What? Don't tell me you don't like Echizen Ryoma," Momoshiro teased. To be honest, he'd be surprised that Ryuzaki liked _any_ type of music, the boy had been so quiet that no one realised he had moved in until a week after he had arrived. Fuji-senpai had actually tripped over the doorway when he found the petite boy watching the news one evening.

_Well, he's not really __**that**__ small, _Momoshiro mused. But compared to Inui-senpai, who was a whooping six feet something, it certainly seems like it.

"No." Came the muttered reply just before a can of Ponta was popped open. Ryoma then proceeded to slink out of the room as silently as he had entered.

_ To be continued..._

* * *

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Takeshi Konomi.

**Please review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Dreaming on the Radio**** (Chapter 2)**

It was a new and _beautiful_ day at the City of Senbatsu. The birds were chirping, the skies were clear…mostly, and the weather was a perfect blend of light breezes and warm sunshine.

As students and lecturers alike made their way into the large theatres for a day of _fun_, not to mention extremely expensive, education; one Momoshiro Takeshi realised that he was…

"AH £&S#!!"

…late.

"Argh, damn it, damn it, damn it all to £"!#&£ hell!" Nearly tripping over his own trainers, Momoshiro managed to tug on his jeans and throw on a random tank top before grabbing his bag, that he never bothered to unpack the night before – thank heavens for laziness, and rushing out of the door.

Lecture started at 9:15. It took 10 minutes of running at full speed to get to the lecture theatre. It was currently 9:08…crap.

Usually Momo wouldn't have cared much, usually the lectures started 10 minutes later than scheduled. But unfortunately, this was a lecture about the one thing he simply did NOT understand on his course. And _this _particular lecturer was strict about time.

Tearing out of his room at full speed, Momoshiro managed to crashed into Ryuzaki Ryoma before he even reached the front door. A very rushed Ryuzaki Ryoma who had not expected someone to jump out of their room like Momoshiro did and thus could not help falling over at the sudden weight thrown against him.

The two of them tumbled to the floor in a mass of limbs, bags dropping to the ground next to them and spilling out their contents. Momo cursed, cursed his misfortune, cursed his snooze button, he even cursed the first year struggling to get up beside him.

He wasn't the only one of course, Echizen was feeling rather disgruntled himself, he had to record a new song that night, meaning he would not return until 9:00pm that night, at the earliest. Having a packed schedule on top of being late, thus meriting no breakfast, was already annoyance in itself. But now he's just been tackled to the floor and everything in his bag was all over the place. What a great way to start the day.

Scowling agitatedly, Ryoma hurriedly stuffed his things back into his bag, completely ignoring the idiot beside him who had made him fall in the first place, and hurried out of the door, slamming it on his way out.

Momoshiro glowered as the door slammed in his face, causing him to waste precious seconds to turn the lock so he could leave. Just because they were both in a rush didn't mean that Ryuzaki had to be rude. In fact, the first year's insolence only added to his bad mood, even as he sneaked into the lecture hall (all the while having the lecturer's glaring eyes pinned on him) and sat down as quick as possible.

It wasn't until he reached into his bag and rummaged around for his pen that he felt it. A distinct square of plastic nestled between the leaves of his notebook; a CD case.

An unfamiliar CD case…crap.

_ To be continued..._

* * *

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Takeshi Konomi.

I really flattered that so many of you have put this fic on your alert list...but could you **please** **review **as I'd really like to know what you thought of the fic. Not to mention they are an amazing source of motivation which will help me **update quicker**.

For those who have reviewed, thank you very much for taking the time and effort of writing one. It made me very happy. :D


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3 has now been fixed. **Apologies for the missing scene, hope people weren't too confused._

**Dreaming on the Radio**** (Chapter 3)**

Echizen frowned. When he woke up this morning at exactly 9:07:56, he knew it would not be a good day. That was only further proven when his housemate nearly ran over him on his way to the university.

He had arrived at the seminar late, fell asleep at the lecture afterwards, arrived late to the seminar after _that_ because he fell asleep and now, several lectures later, on his way to the studio, he couldn't find his CD.

_I'm **sure **I left it in here last night!_ His manager was going to screw him over for this…absolutely screw him over. He should have made a copy, didn't his agent keep pestering him to make her a copy so she could keep one just in case? Why didn't he make a copy?!

Sighing a little in frustration, Echizen checked his watch. He was already late as it was since the last lecture over ran, even if he went back to his house his manager would be mad at him for wasting valuable recording time. So it's pretty much a lose-lose situation right now. He shrugged to himself and settled a little more comfortably in his seat. There was not much he could do now, he might as well relax while he could.

-

Momoshiro twirled the CD case round and round as he watched the TV. He had returned after his first, and only, lecture of the day with the full intention of leaving it on the kitchen counter or slipping it under Ryuzaki's door. But Ann-chan had texted him, and in a hurry to meet up with her he had left the CD in his bag.

So he was making sure he didn't forget about it as he watched his favourite programme and waited for the commercials to come on so he could go upstairs and slip it under Ryuzaki's door. He would have done it earlier…but he barely made it in time to catch the start of 'Kira Kira' and didn't want to miss a second of it. So he vowed not to forget about the CD in the time it took him to watch the show.

_It's just a CD, it can't be that important._ Then again, he had heard from Ohtori about how someone failed their course because they didn't hand their composition in on time. Momo wasn't sure what music course Ryuzaki did; he just hoped the CD wasn't an important, grade-affecting composition or anything.

The door slammed, just as the first commercial break came on.

-

Echizen was in a foul mood when he returned home that night. The recording had not gone well, and thanks to the absence of that particular arrangement, there would be a delay in the mixing. The producer had actually been a little worried about whether they would make the deadline. Or rather, whether they would make the deadline with a fantastic piece of work, which is what the public expected of him.

He had waited years for a chance to return to music, it was not going take one stupid little piece of accompaniment to ruin his reputation. He was going to find that disk right now and put it in his bag immediately so that it'd be there for tomorrow.

"Oh hey, Ryuzaki," a familiarly loud voiced echoed across the living room and out onto the hall.

"Call me Ryoma," Echizen growled out and stomped up the stairs. If that idiot was going to have a go at him for not emptying out the bin again he was going to maim something.

-

Momo rolled his eyes as Ryuzaki sulked up the staircase. _Gee, why is he always in such a bad mood?_ Somewhere in the back of his mind, he worried that it was because of the CD but he pushed the thought away. It was just one little disk right?

"Oi, Ryuzaki. You left your CD on the floor this morning."

Ryuzaki seem to stop mid-step, before he practically ran back down the stairs. Hazel eyes were wide as they took in the sight of Momo waving the case in the air lightly before they narrowed into an angry glare.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" Ryoma all but snarled at him.

Momo was a little taken aback. "Er, because you just walked into the door?"

"You could have called or texted me or something," scowls and growls accompanied every word, Momo felt that stab of guilt return. "It was really important to me!" With that Ryuzaki snatched the case out of his hands irritably. "Idiot," he mumbled.

Momo found himself frowning at that. Sure he should have left it in the house earlier on in the day, but that was no reason for Ryuzaki to just randomly insult him! And how _could_ he call or text? The first year wasn't exactly sociable enough to give him his phone number.

"If it was so important why didn't you just keep a closer eye on it!" Momo found himself yelling back before he could help himself. "It's not like it's my duty to look after _your_ things! You should be glad I didn't write over your stupid little composition!"

In all his life, Momoshiro had never seen anyone spin around so fast; Ryuzaki nearly tripped over his own feet as he turned and stalked over to him.

"Did you listen to it?!" the first year demanded.

"Yeah, as if I'd listen to your music," Momo rolled his eyes. Did this kid have some sort of copyright complex or something? It's not like he was going to steal whatever was on it and put it in his own coursework or something. "Ooh, commercials are over."

-

Ryoma felt himself raise an eyebrow as that loud mouthed idiot blanked him as soon as some stupid TV show came on. Such a simpleton probably would not have been able to notice the accompaniment anyway, he shouldn't have worried so.

And it _was_ quite nice of him to keep a hold of the CD rather than just leaving it on the kitchen counter where it could have gotten burnt by one of Inui-senpai's experiments.

_But it was **his **fault for running into me in the first place!_ Then again, he probably could have avoided that if he had just woken up in time...

Shaking away such pointless thoughts, Ryoma headed back upstairs. But not before a quiet glance back into the living room.

_ To be continued..._

* * *

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Takeshi Konomi.

Yes I realise the chapter lengths are rather inconsistent, this is mostly because on I just post whatever I finish after one sitting. If you would like to read the merged chapters, please go to my fanwork LJ. Cheers.

**Please review!!**


	4. Chapter 4

For longer/consistent lengths of chapters, please go to my fanwork journal [link on profile], you will find the merged chapters there.

Oh, and as of now, **no reviews, no update** due to motivational problems. ^_^

**Dreaming on the Radio**** (Chapter 4)**

"_On the edge, but it can go either way~_" singing filtered through air; the sound smooth, the tone raunchy. "_DJ, I'll give you a record to pla—_" Ryoma cleared his throat, and clicked the radio off. He wasn't sure this type of music was really the direction he would be suited to go in, sexy and raunchy wasn't exactly his style. Though using it occasionally could increase his fanbase…apparently. He shrugged to himself, and pulled some crumpled scores closer.

Aside from singing slightly differently, his producer had wanted him to write a song for Valentine's Day. It was still only just November, but he needed to finish writing the main tune by next week, since he'd be busy recording his new single over Christmas. His manager was actually coming over today to explain the Christmas-New Year timetable with him. If he played his cards right, he might be able to get some free time from her for once.

Speaking of which, she should be here by now. Echizen looked out of the window, and sighed a little to himself. _She got lost again, didn't she._

-

"And then he said: 'Well if you were using your brains then that wouldn't have happened would it?' I mean, the _nerve_ of that guy!"

"Hnya, he must really annoy you, if you go on about it so much," Eiji yawned as he and Momo walked down the street. According to Fuji, this Ryuzaki Ryoma was quiet and polite; but with the way Momo goes on about him…_you'd think he was the devil incarnated or something._

And as much as he likes to be a good friend, hearing someone complain about a person he's never even met gets rather tiring. And Eiji's never been known for his stamina.

_Hn, wonder if that girl's lost, nya, _Eiji thought when he noticed a relatively cute girl staring at the city map of Senbatsu, fidgeting nervously as she wavered on the spot. Having nothing better to do, and looking for any excuse to pause Momo in his 'Ryuzaki' tirade, Eiji bounced over to her.

"Need help, nya?" he asked, even as the girl shied back a little at a total stranger talking to her.

"U-um, can…can you please tell me how to get to Seishun Street?" the girl asked timidly, her brown plaits bouncing beside her with every movement.

"Seishun? Yeah sure, you visiting a friend or something?" Momo asked as he walked over. Eiji-senpai could be so rude sometimes, but he had been going on about Ryuzaki for a while. _Guess I could forgive him for getting bored._

"Ah, um…er…yes" The girl curled in on herself some more. Eiji made sure to smile reassuringly, all the while wondering who's girlfriend she was as Momo pointed out the right directions. He knew most people on Seishun Street, and only a handful of them had girlfriends that didn't go to their uni.

"She was cute, nya!" Eiji smiled as the two headed for the supermarket. "It's rare to meet such a cute girl."

"She's most likely taken though," Momo said with a slightly forlone sigh. "And in case you've conveniently forgotten, Eiji-senpai, you already **have** a boyfriend."

-

_BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTT!_

Echizen flinched as their buzzer-like doorbell sounded through the house. Getting out of his chair with a groan, he had been doing well with the new song before being interrupted, Ryoma opened the front door.

"Good afternoon," Sakuno smiled as she bowed an apology, "sorry I'm late, I got lost on the way here."

"As usual," Ryoma turned and headed back upstairs, letting Sakuno close the door behind her. Going through schedules and being told he had to be here and there at whatever time was definitely not the perk of his chosen career. "It's because your hair's too long."

"My hair being long has nothing to do with getting lost!" Sakuno said, even as she hurried after him. "But enough of that, there's been a slight change of plans tomorrow so you might have to sleep over at the studio. Oh and…"

And the list of duties went on.

* * *

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Takeshi Konomi.

**Please review!!**


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Uwa!!! You guys have all been so nice leaving such meaningful reviews and everything! Thank you so much!!!!

* * *

**Dreaming on the Radio**** (Chapter 5)**

_One day off. One day off tomorrow; and then going to the studio every single freaking day up until the 24th. _Part of Echizen wondered if that went against some sort of slavery law.

"It can't be helped Ryoma-kun," Sakuno tried to reassure him as he led her to the door. It had taken quite a bit of convincing to even get her to give him a day off. "Grandma, I mean, the producer has some problems with your next single. We have to plan for the worse case scenario. If you have to re-record it then-"

"We'll do it during the sessions we've already booked, I know, I know," he said, watching her zip up her coat. "You sure you don't want me to walk you to the station?"

"It's fine," she smiled at him, before turning to open the door, "you should use this time to relax. We've got lots of work ahead, and…um…"

The sudden lax in conversation caused Echizen to frown at Sakuno's back. Shifting slightly to the left, he found that his manager was having trouble unlocking the front door. He sighed to himself, it was amazing such a complete klutz was such a helpful manager. "Here, let me do it," he said, reaching forward.

Before he even touched the lock, however, the handle twisted and the door swung inwards, nearly hitting Sakuno in the face. Thankfully her reflexes were just fast enough this time.

"Ah, sorry sorry," a loud, familiar, not to mention annoying voice boomed across the doorway. Echizen had to fight his urge to cover his ears. _Annoying as ever I see._

"Hnya! It's you!" An equally loud person called out, the urge grew larger. "I didn't know this was the house you wanted to get to!"

"Ah…um…hi," Sakuno replied shyly, curling inwards the way she tended to do when reunited with someone whom she met under embarrassing circumstances.

_She must have asked them for directions,_ Echizen smirked to himself.

-

Momoshiro was experiencing a slight mixture of feelings as the girl with the plaits greeted them nervously. On the one hand, he was rather pleased with himself that he managed to guess right and the girl was here to see her boyfriend. So many long distanced relationships broke up recently it was getting rather depressing. On the other hand…Ryuzaki has a girlfriend. _Ryuzaki_ has a girlfriend. The same Ryuzaki who was snarky, cold, anti-social and downright unpleasant at times; managed to get a girlfriend whilst Momoshiro, whom regarded himself as a pretty decent and attractive guy…didn't.

There was something seriously wrong with this world.

"Hnya! You leaving already? But you just got here."

"A-ah…um, my-our, our grandmother isn't feeling too well today so I've got to hurry back," the girl stuttered, fidgeting with her hair and practically twitching from, Momshiro assumed, all the attention. Wait, _our_ grandmother? Does that mean-

"EH?! YOU'RE MARRIED!" Eiji-senpai exclaimed.

Ryuzaki growled. "She's my cousin."

Really, trust Eiji-senpai to jump to the wrong conclusion. But cousin, not girlfriend; inwardly, Momshiro sighed a breath of relief. The world was not ending after all.

"Well, um, I better go," Ryuzaki's cousin, now a brilliant shade of red, no doubt thanks to Eiji-senpai, said. She turned to Ryuzaki, "I know it's going to be hard, so enjoy your free time tonight."

Momo moved out of the way, but Eiji-senpai was still too curious for his own good. "Eh? You gonna be super busy this week or something?"

"Looking after grandma," Ryuzaki answered smoothly, and rather nonchalantly. Honestly, if _his_ grandmother was ill, Momo was sure he'd never be so relaxed about it.

"Ooh, such a modelled citizen," Eiji-senpai sniggered, "you deserve a prize. Yosh! I, Kikumaru Eiji, that's my name by the way, shall invite you to come to the student union bar with us tonight!"

_WHAT?! _"Eiji-senpai!" Momoshiro hissed, Kikumaru did _not_ just invite the most annoying person on earth to go out with them. "Are you crazy, you can't just invite someone you've never met before to a night out between _friends_. The others might get annoyed."

As expected, Eiji waved that excuse away. "It'll be fine it'll be fine, besides, it's karaoke night at the bar, and the more the merrier I say, especially on karaoke nights!"

Unbeknownst by them, Ryuzaki and his cousin stiffened slightly at the word 'karaoke'. Sakuno gave Ryoma a meaningful glance, which Ryoma scowled at.

"But Eiji-senpai!"

"So how about it?!" Eiji continued, ignoring Momo's protests easily.

Something passed between the cousins, but Momo barely noticed, let alone figure out what it was. Finally Ryuzaki spoke, "sure." And Momo wanted to punch his senpai.

"Great! We're leaving at around nine, so we'll knock on your door or something, 'kay?"

Ryuzaki nodded, and Momo's urge to punch only increased.

_Grr, how can I impress Ann-chan properly when there's a damn eyesore in the way?_ Not that Ryuzaki was particularly ugly or anything, it was just that he was such an annoying guy, his mere presence induced frustration. And if he was so unpleasant and cold now, Momo didn't dare think of how horrid the first year could get if he became drunk. _Perhaps I should exchange his beer for water with food colouring or something…like spiking his drink in reverse._

Before that thought went anywhere though, Eiji-senpai was pulling him towards his room. "Hnya! So where was this poster you were talking about?"

The click of the lock was the only clue that the cousins have left the house.

-

"Are you out of your mind?!" Sakuno whispered frantically as soon as the door closed behind them. "What if they find out?!"

"They won't find out if I don't sing," Ryoma retorted. "Besides, it's my night off, shouldn't I be able to do whatever I want?"

"Not at the risk of your career!" Sakuno whined, "oh _please_ be careful tonight, Ryoma-kun."

Echizen didn't seem to particularly care, edging to open the gate for her in an obvious gesture to get her home. "Stop worrying so much," he said when she didn't so much as move, "it'll be fine." With that, he gave up on holding the gate and went back inside.

_To be continued-_

* * *

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Takeshi Konomi.

**Please review!! **Still following the rules of **no reviews, no update** due to potential motivational problems. ^_^ **Cheers!**


	6. Chapter 6

Karaoke nights were noisy affairs; Ryoma knew this clearly in his mind. However, nothing could have prepared him for the song of chaos that welcomed him as he stepped into the student union bar that night. Popular songs were played, a given considering it was a pub karaoke as opposed to a private room one, and everyone who were not on the stage sang along whenever they felt like it. People out of tune, people out of time, people just completely out of their minds all belted their hearts out, it was absolutely crazy.

_And I will not run away like a mad man._ Turning down social invitations like these when already having agreed to them was rude, besides, Momoshiro would never let him hear the end of it if he left now for no adequate reason.

Speaking of which…"Ann-chan!" Momoshiro yelled, waving happily at a group of students around a large rectangular table. Echizen felt himself pause again, there were a lot more people than he had originally anticipated.

"Hnya, sit down sit down!" Kikumaru said happily, pushing him down onto a seat none too gently. Introductions were completely ignored, a surprisingly frequent thing at uni Echizen had found, even as the others exchanged pleasant greetings.

Pulling the songs folder over, Echizen was half happy, and half nervous to find many of his own creations being on the list. Though proud that they were so popular, he was rather apprehensive at the thought of hearing off-key renditions tonight. In fact, judging by how many people not on the stage sang along, it would likely to be multiple off-key versions.

"Sing something, nya!" Kikumaru yelled into his ear, which, Ryoma begrudgingly accepts, was necessary in the current situation.

Not even bothering to yell back, Sakuno would probably faint if his voice was sore tomorrow, Echizen simply shook his head.

"Oh go on," Kikumaru continued, and when it became apparent that it wasn't working, he tried to find reinforcement.

"Surely it would be good practise for a Music student," Fuji smiled.

"You singing would have a 79 % chance of soothing our ears," Inui monotoned.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Oishi-san, a medical student and, judging by the way the redhead was hanging all over him happily, Kikumaru's love interest.

"Hnya! Don't say that, Oishi! We're trying to persuade him to sing, right Momo?"

"I think I'd rather hear Ann-chan sing," Momoshirou replied easily, a statement Echizen found himself scowling at. "I know you have a great voice!" this was directed at the pretty second year seated next to him. The scowl deepened.

"Oh, I don't know if I can compete against a music student," 'Ann-chan' said modestly, which managed to ease Echizen's agitation somewhat.

"I can honestly say, that your voice, is the _best_, that I have ever heard, in my life." Momoshirou replied, tone filled with annoying emphasis. Ann-chan giggled, and Ryoma decided that he wasn't interesting in watching them flirt the night away.

"Why don't you sing this one?" he interrupted, almost throwing the song folder right into their faces. "Number 341."

They blinked, and peered at the name curiously.

"Dreaming on the Radio," Momoshirou read, "Echizen Ryoma…"

"It's your favourite right?" Echizen said evenly when Momo looked up.

"Huh? Er…well yeah…" Momoshirou stuttered, as if surprised that his housemate even knew his music preferences. With the way the idiot blast his music loud enough for the entire street to hear, Echizen thought it should have been more surprising if he hadn't know. -RW

"I didn't know you liked Echizen Ryoma," Ann-chan spoke up, still studying the songs list. Momoshirou turned his attention back to her.

"Who doesn't?! He has the _best _songs and the _best _voice ever. Though I guess I might change my mind if I hear you sing it."

Ann laughed lightly, "Is that so? Well, I guess I can give it a go. You better not be disappointed if I don't live up to your expectations though."

"I'll go and register it for you shall I?" Fuji offered, feeling amused at the way Ryuzaki was mood turned darker and darker the more Ann flirted back. In the mood for fanning the fire, he added, "I imagine Momo would rather spend as much time with you as possible."

Momo blushed at that, giving a whiny "Fuji-senpaaii!" while Ann just laughed. Ryuzaki on the other hand directed his glare towards him, and Fuji quickly made his escape, chuckling at the potential drama that was brewing.

-- _to be continued  
_

Very bad place to end I know, but it's been so long since I've updated that I felt I should really just post what I had so far.

Thank you everyone for the reviews, they mean a lot to me. I hope you will keep reading this fic, even though I have no idea when my next post will be since life is super busy right now. I'll try my best!


	7. Chapter 7

Summary: Echizen is a famous singer who is secretly attending Senbatsu University. It hadn't been hard to keep his identity a secret, now if only his loud, callous housemate didn't grate on his nerve so much. -MomoRyo- Because annoyance is obviously the start of a beautiful relationship.

* * *

"Attention…" a timid voice sounded throughout the karaoke bar. On the stage, stood a slightly nervous looking bar staff, speaking tensely into the microphone in front of him. "Attention, please. Due to the extremely high number of people wishing to sing Echizen Ryoma's _Dreaming on the Radio_, it has been decided that we shall have a turn-taking system for this song."

"Hyna, how on earth is that going to work," Eiji mumbled.

"I-if all those who have signed up to sing _Dreaming on the Radio_ c-could just line up along there please," the bar staff continued, waving to one side of the stage. "And we'll call you up individually a-and everyone c-can have a go."

"There's really quite a lot of people," Fuji noted as a mass of students stood up and edged their way to where the queue started.

"I should probably go line up," Ann says, pushing her chair back and headed to the queue.

"Go blow them away!" Momo, with a giant grin on his face, yelled, which caused Ann to wave back at them cheerfully. Echizen's scowl returned. His mood had temporarily picked up when he found out that there were so many people wanting to sing his song, they had to take turn going on stage. However, seeing the loud idiot acting like a groupie for a girl who wasn't even that cute quickly brought his mood crashing back down.

"You look like a fanboy, nya," Eiji teased as soon as Ann joined the queue and was out of hearing distance. "You're not going to be making a banner next time are you?"

"Eiji," Oishi chuckled despite his attempt at reprimand. Not that he needed to reprimand the red-head, since Momo took absolutely no offence to the teasing.

"You think she'll like it if I made a banner?" In fact, Momo took the teasing a little too seriously.

The bar staff/announcer guy drowned out any sarcastic reply to Momo's comment, "S-so, we will now start the song. Everyone will be a selected time, please get off the stage when we a-ask so that the next person can have a go. Thank you."

And so the song began. Echizen cringed at the number of tone-deaf singers that went on stage, and was always thankful when they were told to move aside when their little moment in the limelight ended. Singer after singer came and went, and soon it was Ann's turn.

"_Itsumo Soko ni Ashita wo miteta~_"

Echizen grudgingly accepted that she was the best singer they had throughout the entire song, but she was still far from amazing. Watching his entire table cheer and clap as Ann sang the first chorus, Ryoma had to remind himself that they were acting like this because they were her friends.

And the guys on the next table...they were catcalling and whistling because they thought she was cute.

And the girls at the back were whooping and cheering because…because…he scowled.

When she had finished the chorus, singing longer than everyone before her had, everyone was applauding her. Even Ryoma couldn't lie and think that everyone was encouraging the next person about to sing.

"You were GREAT, Ann-chan," Momo all but gushed as she rejoined their table.

"Definitely the best, nya!"

"97% chance that you were given 38.6% more to sing because of your brilliant performance."

"Seriously, I think you might even be better than Echizen Ryoma himself," Momo praised.

Echizen twitched.

Better? **_Better?!_** Sure she was pretty good for someone who sang as a hobby, but to say she was BETTER than the original artist?! The artist who poured blood and tears into writing this song so he could create a debut ten times better than when his dad had introduced him to the music world? This little girl, who went a little out of tune at least twice?!

He growled harshly and silently stalked towards the stage as the first instrumental sounded. Bypassing the entire queue of people, Echizen stepped onto the stage and pulled the mic towards him. Just as the next verse began.

"_Saikin sukoshi wa~_

_Ano koro yori mashi ni natta keredo~_"

As he sang, he could feel everyone quietening down, all staring at him with amazed faces. He glanced over at his housemates' table, and found that they too were wearing expressions of awe. Part of him wanted to smirk; the rest of him was relaxing into the music he wrote during those difficult months in America.

No one moved, they all just stayed completely silent and watched him perform the song as it was meant to be performed.

"_Kyou no REQUEST~_"

Echizen got off the stage to stunned silence. It wasn't until he was halfway to the table that the entire bar cheered and clapped. And he smiled to himself.

Not in the mood for the crazed questions he knew was coming, Eiji's 'where did you learn to sing like that?!?!?!' was already ringing through the air, Ryoma simply grabbed his jacket from the chair, bowed briefly, and headed for the exit.

"Wait!" Many voices yelled, barely audible amongst the cheering and applaud that was still echoing through the bar. "Wait a sec!" He kept walking.

He had already left the building and was heading home when he heard running footsteps behind him. He ignored it, until a hand reached out and clasped hard on his shoulder.

"I said wait!" Momo panted, slight breathless from that running. But he had to know, had to ask.

Ryoma turned around, a happy grin on his face. And for a moment Momo was completely speechless. This was the first time he had ever seen Ryuzaki smile. He felt like he was looking at a completely different person.

"What is it?" Ryuzaki asked, and Momo managed to snap out of it.

"Er…I-I er…um," he stuttered, having completely forgotten what he had ran out for. "I was just…thinking we could walk back together." That probably wasn't what he had wanted to say, but it didn't really matter.

The grin was still there, and Ryoma looking suddenly so approachable, suddenly so friendly, replied easily. "Sure."

-

_To be continued~_

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Been a while since I've updated this fic, so I thought I'd put up a longish chapter for once. Hope you are all still enjoying this fic! Thank you for all your lovely reviews!


	8. Chapter 8

Summary: Echizen is a famous singer who is secretly attending Senbatsu University. It hadn't been hard to keep his identity a secret, now if only his loud, callous housemate didn't grate on his nerve so much. -MomoRyo- Because annoyance is obviously the start of a beautiful relationship.

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"You did _what_?!"

Echizen sighed tiredly as he marked another note on the score in front of him. They, Sakuno and him that is, were currently in his room, with Ryoma seated on the swivel chair and Sakuno standing behind the door, holding it close and pressing her back against it as if she expected a tank to barge through at any second. Or perhaps she was expecting fans to barge through at any second, it wouldn't be too surprising.

"You promised, _promised_ that you wouldn't sing at the karaoke!" his manager rambled profusely, voice going impossibly high and eyes looking deathly worried. In all honesty, Echizen didn't realise why she was freaking out so much, it wasn't as if anyone realised who he really was. In fact, if Momo hadn't been telling everyone about how great his performance was, Sakuno would not even have known Ryoma sang at the karaoke.

"It's not a big deal," Echizen said, rolling his eyes a little. "No one recognised me."

"You don't know that," Sakuno whined, "it was only yesterday, and what if you get conned into singing again? Or maybe," fear crept into Sakuno's eyes at all the different ways Echizen could be exploited. Her overactive imagination even began playing out scenarios in which a crazed fan came and kidnapped Ryoma and and…..

Clutching at Echizen's shoulder, Sakuno gave a tortuous wail, "Don't get sold into slavery, Ryoma-kun!!!!"

"…" Echizen didn't really have much say to that, not entirely sure where slavery came into it. "…okay," he muttered in an attempt to calm Sakuno down.

Shaking her head a little, Sakuno backed away. "Onto more…pressing issues…I mean, not that this isn't pressing, oh grandma is going to have my head." Sakuno coughed to stop herself in her tirade. "Grandma says your last song…er…won't be appropriate."

Echizen snapped his head away from the unfinished scores in front of him and glowered at Sakuno. "What?" He had already adjusted the song three times to suit his stupid producer's expectations. What on earth could possibly be wrong with it this time?

Sakuno clearly understood what Ryoma was having an issue with, or at least, she understood it was a bit of an issue as her nervousness quickly kicked in and she began playing with her hair. "Er…well…um…she didn't tell me the details exactly, but she said something about it being too bland and….well…she said it was too bland."

_Bland?!_ Okay, so admittedly he had to force the song out, the music didn't flow to him as smoothly as some of the other songs. But that was only because he's been stuck in this stupid university with nothing to do and having to hide his identity and have people sing his songs and get overly praised and-

Echizen let out a breath. _Calm down_, he told himself,_ you were the one who wanted to go to university under an alias. And Momoshiro recognised that you were the best singer in the end._ Even if the idiot was still head-over-heels for that sugary-sweet Tachibana Ann, you are still the best singer. Even if that idiot is blowing him off to go to the library with Ann….well it worked out in the end since Sakuno wanted to come over for an impromptu meeting.

"So tomorrow at five a car will come and pick you up, okay?" Sakuno finished, and with a start, Ryoma realised she had been speaking during his entire inner tirade.

"Uh, yes, yes it's fine," he said, thinking that he couldn't have missed much if he was going to the studio tomorrow anyway. "I'll see you at five then."

Sakuno sighed, "I'm not going to be there, Ryoma-kun. Were you even listening?" One look found that Echizen had gone back to looking at his half-finished scores, a frown etched upon his face as if dissatisfied with his work. Shaking her head, Sakuno placed a hand on Ryoma's shoulder and spun him around. "Listen, Ryoma-kun. You absolutely CANNOT sing again. It is very important. Your mystery element is really helping you and giving you that extra edge. Yes I know your music gives you an advantage too," Sakuno cut Ryoma off when the latter began to protest, "but this mystery is really feeding the fans. Especially with that rumour we spread about you having an upcoming tour-

"Which I am NOT participating in," Echizen said. He would not endorse an event he had no say in.

"We know, Ryoma-kun, it was leaked as a rumour," Sakuno sighed before looking at the star with focused, albeit slightly nervous, eyes. "That's not the point…just…promise you won't sing again, okay?"

Grumbling slightly, Ryoma rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah yeah, I promise."

--//\\--

"Wow, even your humming's good," Momoshiro grinned as he dropped the fried eggs onto a plate, grabbing the bread from the toaster. Despite having different classes, Momo and Ryoma's been spending most mornings together, munching away at the breakfast as they chatted, laughed, and generally had a good time. This particular morning Momo had a class to attend so wouldn't be staying long. Echizen was planning to finish adjusting his score, he was determined to get it approved this time around, fourth time lucky perhaps?

A week had passed since the karaoke incident and as far as Echizen could tell, no one had linked him to the singer. Not that it was difficult, who would believe such an international superstar would really be at their university and sing his own song at the student union's karaoke night?

"Late lunch?" Momo asked as he finished his food.

Ryoma nodded, "Sure, I'll be there." It may have only been a week, but they pretty much memorised each other's time tables already. Today Ryoma would have a lecture that didn't finish until around half two, like most of his classes so Momo had suggested they go get lunch together since the second year had a student seminar to attend anyway.

As Momo waved and left the kitchen, Fuji strolled in. "Late lunch? You two are getting awfully close aren't you?" he chuckled as he pulled a box of cereal down from the shelf."

Ryoma gave a non-committal shrug and continued chewing away at his toast.

"Does Echizen Ryoma really have time for such trivialities though?"

Ryoma almost choked.

"Oh my, are you alright?" Fuji said, patting Echizen softly on the back as he thumped at his chest, gulping down the orange juice to force the food down.

Once he was no longer in danger of suffocating, Ryoma took a wary glance over at Fuji. There was no proof that Fuji had worked it out, but it wouldn't really surprise him if he did, Fuji-senpai was sharp like that.

"What makes you bring up Echizen Ryoma?" he asked casually, taking another bite of his toast, making sure to seem disinterested.

Behind him, Fuji smiled his gentle smile. "Oh no real reason," he said, pouring milk into his bowl of chocolate-covered cornflakes. "Just wondered how you were faring with your alternate identity, singer-san~" With that, the third year glided out of the room.

As soon as he was sure Fuji had returned to his room, Echizen groaned and lowering his head into his arms. The secret was out.

-- _to be continued_

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Another several months later, the fic is updated! And...the chapters are getting longer and longer. ^^; Well, I doubt many would complain that they are longer but I feel like I babbled a lot with this chapter, heh.

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!!! They are very motivating, I migh have given up on this fic if it weren't for those reviews.


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